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There is a lot of talk these days about the covid-19 mutation that is of particular concern to Britain and which appears to be more contagious.
The infectious diseases specialist Matteo Bassetti, director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the San Martino Hospital in Genoa, said in this regard that “it is a mutated virus that has been temporarily named VUI-202012/01. It appears more contagious, which means that it is more easily transmitted from one individual to another, but it is not more aggressive or deadly. Obviously, these are hypotheses that will be confirmed by studies still in progress. This variant is circulating significantly and frequently in the south-east of the United Kingdom. ‘
But what exactly happened to the virus? Bassetti on his Facebook page explains: “There have been 17 mutations, the most significant of which is N501Y in the spike protein that the virus uses to adhere to human cells. This mutation, as already mentioned, would make it spread more easily. It is not the first mutation described in the world and it will not be the last. Similar mutations had already been described in Spain and other countries. Viruses are constantly mutating. It is their way of life: change to survive. It cannot be excluded that this variant is not already circulating in other countries, including Italy. It will be necessary to continue studying the viral genome of the virus strains isolated in our country. Vaccines already approved or still under study will work the same way, as vaccines cause our body to produce antibodies against many parts of the spike protein and the described mutation only affects a small part. So don’t panic. We monitor, study and continue with the vaccination plan ».
